London's Gatwick Airport has ranked as the worst airport in Europe to travel through, according to a new study.
The research judged the airports based on factors such as shopping options, food and drink, as well as facilities such as lounges.
Gatwick ranked number 39 of 40 of the busiest airports in the world, with Mexico City International taking the spot as the worst airport globally.
Speaking to The Pat Kenny Show, Air & Travel Magazine Editor Eoghan Corry said: “I wouldn't be placing much credence in the survey.”
“Let's face reality here, layovers are horrible in most airports in the world,” he said.
“Many of them were built for smaller numbers and they ended up adding on bits.”
Traveler waiting at airport after flights delays and cancellations (NicoElNino / Alamy Stock Photo)Retail
Mr Corry said the study’s emphasis on shops was not a legitimate indication of their global ranking.
“Retail was a big thing in the 90s and noughties, airports saw it as a revenue source,” he said.
“What happens in the lead-up to the pandemic was that the dwell time in airports had started coming down.
“[Now] a lot of people allow four or five hours for the layover, that means passengers that are laying over will start looking for food, they'll start looking for those shopping outlets.
“Things like Wi-Fi which weren't considered in this are also important in layover airports.”
Passengers disembark from planes at Dublin Airport. Image: Phil Crean A / AlamyLondon airports
Mr Corry said he was “surprised” at Gatwick’s ranking on the list.
“I found some of the others less functional than Gatwick,” he said.
“What I found is going landside and getting the extension of the Heathrow Express is often faster than going by buses that bus between terminals in Heathrow.
“Some will remember with horror the old Terminal 1 where Irish passengers passed and you had to do an 800m run with a bag under one arm and two children on the other.
American airports
Mr Corry noted that travellers should be wary of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
“JFK can be a bit messy – Aer Lingus are in Terminal 5 there so the JetBlue transfer would be very good,” he said.
“Newark – if you're flying into Terminal C, stay with United, it can be okay.
“Let's face it, you could go through the list and say there are a lot of other airports that aren't there.
“The best in Europe in my experience is Amsterdam, but that had a very messy year last year with luggage transfer, then Copenhagen, not many transfers to that, that's very good – my favourite of the lot is probably Helsinki.”
